What We All Long For
by Dionne Brand | Literature & Fiction | This book has not been rated.
ISBN: 9780676976939 Global Overview for this book
ISBN: 9780676976939 Global Overview for this book
3 journalers for this copy...
“They were born in the city from people born elsewhere.”
What We All Long For follows the overlapping stories of a close circle of second-generation twenty-somethings living in downtown Toronto. There’s Tuyen, a lesbian avant-garde artist and the daughter of Vietnamese parents who’ve never recovered from losing one of their children in the crush to board a boat out of Vietnam in the 1970s. Tuyen defines herself in opposition to just about everything her family believes in and strives for. She’s in love with her best friend Carla, a biracial bicycle courier, who’s still reeling from the loss of her mother to suicide eighteen years earlier and who must now deal with her brother Jamal’s latest acts of delinquency. Oku is a jazz-loving poet who, unbeknownst to his Jamaican-born parents, has dropped out of university. He is in constant conflict with his narrow-minded and verbally abusive father and tormented by his unrequited love for Jackie, a gorgeous black woman who runs a hip clothing shop on Queen Street West and dates only white men. Like each of her friends, Jackie feels alienated from her parents, former hipsters from Nova Scotia who never made it out of subsidized housing after their lives became entangled with desire and disappointment.
The four characters try to make a life for themselves in the city, supporting one another through their family struggles.
What We All Long For follows the overlapping stories of a close circle of second-generation twenty-somethings living in downtown Toronto. There’s Tuyen, a lesbian avant-garde artist and the daughter of Vietnamese parents who’ve never recovered from losing one of their children in the crush to board a boat out of Vietnam in the 1970s. Tuyen defines herself in opposition to just about everything her family believes in and strives for. She’s in love with her best friend Carla, a biracial bicycle courier, who’s still reeling from the loss of her mother to suicide eighteen years earlier and who must now deal with her brother Jamal’s latest acts of delinquency. Oku is a jazz-loving poet who, unbeknownst to his Jamaican-born parents, has dropped out of university. He is in constant conflict with his narrow-minded and verbally abusive father and tormented by his unrequited love for Jackie, a gorgeous black woman who runs a hip clothing shop on Queen Street West and dates only white men. Like each of her friends, Jackie feels alienated from her parents, former hipsters from Nova Scotia who never made it out of subsidized housing after their lives became entangled with desire and disappointment.
The four characters try to make a life for themselves in the city, supporting one another through their family struggles.
Sending as a RABCK to Tarna. Enjoy!
Thank you so much, lauraloo29! Yhe book(s) arrived yesterday and made me happy. I'm always interested in Canadian literature. I've often said that if should name one country with best writers in the world, without any hesitation at all I'd say 'Canada'. Byt it's not all. I've read No Language Is Neutral by Dionne Brand, truly loved it and wanted to read more from her ever since. I'm more than interested, really.
Dionne Brand at The Canadian Encyclopedia
Dionne Brand at Canadian Poetry Online
Dionne Brand, 1953- at Canadian Women Poets
Dionne Brand at The Canadian Encyclopedia
Dionne Brand at Voices from the Gaps
Dionne Brand author profile 'She's a Wander' by Suzanne Methot at Quill & Quire
Dionne Brand at Wikipedia
***
Edited to add that Dionne Brand got 2006 City of Toronto Book Award for What We All Long For
ETA (Oct. 4, 2015) that What We All Long For was one of the books in Palkintokaappi (Trophy Cabinet, award winners & nominees VBB) and picked up by Annimanni. So it's reserved for her.
Dionne Brand at The Canadian Encyclopedia
Dionne Brand at Canadian Poetry Online
Dionne Brand, 1953- at Canadian Women Poets
Dionne Brand at The Canadian Encyclopedia
Dionne Brand at Voices from the Gaps
Dionne Brand author profile 'She's a Wander' by Suzanne Methot at Quill & Quire
Dionne Brand at Wikipedia
***
Edited to add that Dionne Brand got 2006 City of Toronto Book Award for What We All Long For
ETA (Oct. 4, 2015) that What We All Long For was one of the books in Palkintokaappi (Trophy Cabinet, award winners & nominees VBB) and picked up by Annimanni. So it's reserved for her.
What We All Long For is a poet's book with beautiful language and sentences that really touch one's soul.
I fully understand why Dionne Brand got the City of Toronto Book Award for this novel. The protagonists of this novel are Tuyen, Carla, Jackie, Oku, Quy — and Toronto. I don't know the city well, so I really enjoyed roaming around the city with the (other) main characters.
I'm truly interested in immigrant stories. I was happy to find out that this book is a bit different one because of the protagonists being second-generation immigrants.
I read it mainly during some 20–30 minute bus rides and am afraid I lost quite a lot of the story because of that. To tell the truth, I'd like to start the book all over again right now. But there are so many other interesting books waiting to be read and this one deserves to get more interested readers.
What We All Long For is not a happy story but I loved it. Loved it very much. It probably is one of the best ones I've read this year. I sure want to read more from Dionne Brand. She is great.
Thank you so much for this wonderful reading experience, lauraloo29!
***
With this book I'm participating so called Ammattihaaste (occupation/profession challenge) on the Finnish Forum. Basically, the protagonists work in different lines of work but I decided to talk about Tuyen, the artist. Most vividly I remember her developing photos and considering if she could use a certain photograph in her artwork. She found the photo lying around somewhere and she had no idea to whom it belonged. It's quite an ethical question.
I fully understand why Dionne Brand got the City of Toronto Book Award for this novel. The protagonists of this novel are Tuyen, Carla, Jackie, Oku, Quy — and Toronto. I don't know the city well, so I really enjoyed roaming around the city with the (other) main characters.
I'm truly interested in immigrant stories. I was happy to find out that this book is a bit different one because of the protagonists being second-generation immigrants.
I read it mainly during some 20–30 minute bus rides and am afraid I lost quite a lot of the story because of that. To tell the truth, I'd like to start the book all over again right now. But there are so many other interesting books waiting to be read and this one deserves to get more interested readers.
What We All Long For is not a happy story but I loved it. Loved it very much. It probably is one of the best ones I've read this year. I sure want to read more from Dionne Brand. She is great.
Thank you so much for this wonderful reading experience, lauraloo29!
***
With this book I'm participating so called Ammattihaaste (occupation/profession challenge) on the Finnish Forum. Basically, the protagonists work in different lines of work but I decided to talk about Tuyen, the artist. Most vividly I remember her developing photos and considering if she could use a certain photograph in her artwork. She found the photo lying around somewhere and she had no idea to whom it belonged. It's quite an ethical question.
Released 8 yrs ago (11/11/2015 UTC) at Tampere, Pirkanmaa / Birkaland Finland
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Thank you for picking up this gem from Palkintokaappi. Enjoy!
Arrived safely, thank you!
